DB Cargo UK has completed fitting in-cab signalling to one of its Class 66 freight locomotives, No. 66070.

The new in-cab signalling system, known as the European Train Control System (ETCS), was fitted to 66070 at Toton Traction Maintenance Depot. It marked the first of its locomotives to have the in-cab signalling system, and follows a contract awarded last year by Network Rail to the company.

Fitting an in-cab signalling system to DB Cargo UK’s locomotives is an essential requirement of the National Freight ETCS Programme. That forms a critical part of the £1.4 billion East Coast Digital Programme, which is replacing lineside signals with modern digital signalling, with the upgrade to the Class 66s being necessary to allow them to operate on the East Coast Main Line in future.

The European Train Control System operates by continuously communicating with every train, in which a computer screen in the driver’s cab displays signalling information in real-time, instead of the driver relying on lineside signals.

It took eight months and hundreds of new components for the team at Toton to install the new system in the cab of the Class 66. Siemens will now test the veracity of the system in 66070 before it is declared operational and fit for purpose, which is expected to be later this year.

The next DB Cargo UK locomotive to be fitted with the in-cab European Train Control System is No. 66003, and the team at Toton Traction Maintenance Depot will start work on that locomotive in the next few days.

“DB Cargo UK is central to the delivery of the UK’s digital railway. Our locomotives and colleagues will play a critical role in the successful operation of digital signalling on one of the country’s most important rail routes. The fitment of 66070 is a major step in this journey, and I’m extremely pleased to say that the team has done an outstanding job on this locomotive, and will be aiming to do the same on the next locomotive in the fitment programme.”

James Bodill, DB Cargo UK’s Third Party Manager, who is leading the fitment work at Toton